The Year That Never Was
by butterfly.cell
Summary: AU The Year That Never Was - Torchwood Three don't take the end of the world lying down. When its caused by a psychopathic madman, they fight it head on... Especially when Jack's involved. Jack/Ianto, minor Tosh/Owen and Gwen/Rhys
1. Chapter 1

I decided, in my fit of buying and watching Doctor Who DVDs, that TYTNW wouldn't have been how it was. I mean, TW 3 were sent on a mission and they stayed the whole year? Not likely. Sure, they could easily have been killed, and all the painful 'kill Ianto in front of Jack' scenarios just don't work if he's killed on the Valiant because the body would be kept in the same state as everyone who remembers.

Un beta'd, so please excuse any mistakes. Please enjoy! I know it's long, but hopefully it's well worth the read

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own the situation or any of the characters, they belong to Russel T. Davies and the BBC

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The Year That Never Was - Part 1

It had been one year since the election of Harold Saxon and Torchwood Three were coming.

--

"Tosh, there is absolutely no alien tech up here!" Owen yelled at the woman, it being her turn to try and justify their mysterious trip that the newly elected Prime Minister had sent them on. At the time, they'd questioned his motives, seeing as he wasn't officially in office yet and Whitehall rarely contacted them on business - they were beyond the government, after all. Somehow, they hadn't twigged what was going on until it had already happened.

"I know, Owen, I just don't want to sit in this refugee camp any longer!" Tosh was at her wit's end – she'd been away from the Hub and her computers for far too long, She felt extremely vulnerable with only her little scanner left.

"There's nothing else we can do, Tosh." Owen finally admitted, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, letting her lean her head on his shoulder. Whilst the two of them argued almost constantly, it was really more brainstorming. Between them, they'd come up with enough excuses and cover stories to get all four of them into the series of camps they'd been moving through.

Right now, they were sitting in one on the outskirts of Belgium. For the past two weeks, they'd been lying low after catching a television broadcast from the Master, his first one in three weeks, in which he did a two hour long special on 'Ways to Kill Captain Jack Harkness'.

Gwen couldn't watch more than one, Tosh turned away after ten minutes and even Owen couldn't stomach the sound of Jack's screams after the seventeenth time. Only Ianto had watched it the whole way through, teeth gritted and fists clenched as the Master reduced Jack to a sobbing mass, twenty six deaths after he started.

Jack had been so brave at first, flirting with the cameras, with the Master, with his guards, laughing off the pain each time he came back, but as the methods got worse, his spirit fled him and it was all he could do not to let his mind break as well as his body.

Ianto hadn't spoken more than three words since the broadcast and the rest of the team respected that, Gwen handling the talking for him, playing the role of his older sister whilst Tosh and Owen disguised themselves as husband and wife. The two couples had met on the road from London all those months ago, fleeing the Toclafane in search of what little peace could still be found on earth.

They had no idea how Jack had ended up on the Valiant, as they'd still been up in the mountains, searching for whatever Saxon had sent them there for. The didn't know anything until they began to descend, three weeks later to find the world on fire, the cities and villages deadened. The first time they'd seen a Saxon Broadcast was one in which he sat with an incredibly aged Doctor, mocking him.

The next was to introduce the world to his friend. To introduce the world to the man who could never die. They hadn't stayed to watch that broadcast. None of them could stand to see Jack chained up for longer than a second. They'd turned and fled France, not wanting to be anywhere near where Saxon might come looking for them.

It was that night though, as the four of them sat in the little Belgian refugee camp, that the traveller arrived, slipping into the group of tents like a shadow, now much practiced at the art of it. The whispers spread like an oil slick through the camp and the whispers rose to mutterings and excited babble finally broke out.

"I think it's that girl, you know, Martha?" Gwen whispered in awe. Everyone had heard the story of the woman who was travelling the world, looking for the pieces of the ultimate weapon, the one person who could kill the Master and free the human race.

"She's not real, Gwen. There's nothing that can stop him, not now." Owen muttered, rubbing Tosh's arm as she nodded in agreement with him, her eyes sad and her expression hopeless.

"There's still a chance, Owen. There's always a-" Gwen started, turning to Ianto to direct her words, but finding his place empty. She jumped up, scanning around her and saw him, moving off into the heart of the crowd. "Ianto, Ianto wait!"

She hurried after him, pushing through the people thronging together until she found a jacket she recognised, the black material meeting battered jeans at the waist. She grabbed the arm and hauled on it, but Ianto wouldn't move.

"Is it true? Can you really kill him?" One man yelled, his accent thick and his voice panicked.

"Can you save us?" Came another cry, English shouting above the babble of foreign voices. People form all over Europe were there, not just Belgians.

"Ianto, please." Gwen begged, fear in her eyes. She didn't want to be caught, she didn't want any of them to be caught. They needed to stay safe, for Jack. The man remained silent though, watching the slight woman sitting on a table only a few feet away from them, looking around, meeting their eyes briefly before she began her story.

"I can stop him. Eventually, I can stop him." She finally said, her accent soothing and familiar to Ianto_. She's from home, she's from London, from Britain_, he thought with a slight smile. "But I've still got a long way to go. You see, I was travelling… I was with this great man, The Doctor, and we went to the end of the universe! We didn't mean to, but we sort of picked up a hitcher."

She laughed slightly as a memory flickered across her face. "If any of you have seen the broadcasts recently, you'll know him – Captain Jack Harkness, the man who can't stay dead." Beneath Gwen's hands, Ianto had tensed, but when she glanced at the young man's face, it was still a mask of polite intrigue and interest for the traveller's story.

"Well, me and the Doctor, we'd travelled to so many places, we've seen so many amazing sights! But more often than not, he's here, saving your lives time after time and none of you even know he exists." Her expression dropped a little as she gazed at the floor. "Because that's who he is – the Doctor. He never asks for recognition or thanks, he just does and that's what makes him so amazing. He means the earth to me and the Earth means everything to him!

"He sent me out here, he sent me to get rid of the Master. Three months ago, he sent me out here and I've travelled all the way across Europe, visiting hundreds of places just like this. You're not alone out there! The Doctor can't help us now but without him, none of this would be possible… Without him, we'd already be dead and gone, nothing more than a shadow of a thought in the whole history of creation. That's what he's protecting, giving his _life_ for. He never stops, he never stays, but he never abandons us."

The murmuring rose up again as one of the woman's guards came to call her across to her tent for the night, apologising to the crowd and asking her to get some rest. Before Gwen could stop him, Ianto was pushing his way through the crowd again, heading for the woman who'd spoken of Jack and the Doctor.

Gwen blinked and she'd lost him. In a panic, she ran back to the others. She didn't hear what Ianto had to say.

--

"Excuse me, you can't come in here, she needs to sleep." The man was saying, blocking the entrance to the tent. He was as tall as Ianto, but heavier built, muscles standing out under his clothes. Ianto, in comparison, was a twig. They'd all lost weight since they'd started running, but none so much as Ianto.

"I have to talk to her, you don't understand!" Ianto growled, speaking for the first time in a very long time. It felt strange yet thrilling to use his voice, soothing almost to hear his accent again.

"Jeremy, what's going on?" The woman asked, coming to the door and looking over the man's thrust out arm at Ianto, meeting his eyes. Ianto just looked at her calmly, though he was sure that his eyes betrayed his desperation. "It's okay, let him come in if he needs to talk."

Jeremy reluctantly let him pass ad the woman gestured him through into the dimly lit tent, offering him one of the camp chairs whilst she sat on the bed, watching him carefully.

"Are you Martha Jones?" Ianto asked, suddenly unsure of what he wanted to say. Or maybe he was unsure of whether he wanted to hear the answers he was looking for or not.

"Yes, I am." She smiled and sat back, looking carefree for a brief moment. "If I'm not mistaken, you're Welsh… correct?"

Ianto simply nodded, looking away from her face, concentrating on something else. Martha was dressed all in black, combat stuffed into leather boots, pockets filled with devices, wrist straps… Ianto did a double take. Only one person in this day and age had anything like that and he would recognise it anywhere.

Without thinking, he leaned forwards and pulled the leather free, not registering that Martha didn't object, merely watched him with interest. He gingerly ran his fingers across the battered leather and he felt his heart break.

"How did you get this?" He whispered after a long silence.

"I was on board the Valiant and a… one of my companions gave it to me, so I could teleport off." She replied quietly, her voice catching at her words.

"He _gave_ it to you…" Ianto trailed off, lost in the security that such a simple object brought to him. It was a reminder that the world hadn't always been this terrible. It had once been full of Jack Harkness, laughing at him, flirting and joking with him… kissing him.

"Hang on." Martha suddenly spoke again, her voice excited and almost relieved. "Hang on, I know you! I know who you are, he spoke about you all so much, but you in particular. You're Jack's… well, he never really put a name to it, but you're Ianto. Ianto Jones?"

Ianto nodded slowly, a little dumbstruck that Jack had spoken about him, about any of them.

"He said you made the best coffee in the world." She smiled fondly and reached forwards to squeeze his hand gently. "He's going to be okay, Ianto. I'm going to get them out."

No sooner had she said that when there came a commotion from the doorway, three familiar voices joining the fray as two guards got increasingly more frustrated.

"You can't go in there! She needs to rest, she's got a long day tomorrow." Jeremy was saying heatedly. Ianto could almost see Owen rolling his eyes at the authoritarian tone.

"Look, mate. Face a hoard of cannibals, have your boss die to save everyone and stay dead for an alarmingly long six days or then have him disappear. _Then_ tell me she has a long day ahead of her." Owen said, surprisingly calmly. Martha got up and smiled at Ianto, who quickly hid the Vortex Manipulator.

"Jeremy, they can come in too." She said, placing a hand on the man's shoulder and gesturing for the others to join herself and Ianto.

"Don't you ever do that to me again, you hear me?" It was Gwen this time, storming towards Ianto and standing with her hand son her hips, glaring at him. He cringed away from her and looked to Martha for help.

"It's okay, we were just talking about someone we both know." She said mysteriously, taking her place on the bed again.

"You said you knew Jack, that he travelled with you." Gwen said quietly, looking over at Martha.

"Yep. We were in Cardiff, powering up the TARDIS and he just came charging across the plass at us!" Martha laughed at the memory of the Doctor's face. "He clung to the outside of it the entire way. The TARDIS was trying to shake him off and we ended up at the end of the universe, one hundred trillion years in the future."

"That sounds like Jack alright." Owen said moodily, though they could all tell he was glad to hear the story, glad to hear about their estranged Captain. They all smiled and Gwen sighed with relief, but Tosh stayed tense, noticing the way Martha shifted, obviously needing to say something to them.

"Listen, I've heard a rumour, a rumour about what goes on up on the Valiant." Martha's voice dropped conspiratorially and she leaned in, obviously not wanting anyone else to hear her. "I've heard that he likes to change his staffers on a regular basis, as the mood takes him. He's been through blondes, brunettes, Londoners, Scots… Anything he thinks might mean something to the Doctor. I can't let this spread because it would send panic through everyone, my plan would never work if I drew that much attention to myself."

"But why're you telling us?" Gwen asked cautiously, her hand resting on Ianto's shoulder both to calm herself and to keep him there. She didn't want to risk him running off at something Martha might say.

"Because his next move is to get to the Doctor through Jack." Martha replied quietly. "There's a rumour going around that next time, he's taking people from Cardiff."

"Then we're going back." Ianto said suddenly with a harsh tone to his voice. The others looked at him in surprise, half concerned yet half glad that he was talking again.

"You need to disguise yourselves. If he know he's found two members of Jack's team, he'll just shoot you cold… most likely in front of Jack." Martha said with warning. Gwen and Tosh both flinched at the thought of Jack having to watch any of his team die.

"That's not going to be a problem." Ianto said casually, the usual dry confidence returning to his voice a little. "None of us look anything like how he would know us – we dropped off the radar a long time ago and he hasn't picked us up again."

"Hang on, that still only covers the two of you, he's not going to pick us up if we're not Welsh." Owen said, a little annoyed to be out of the planning.

"I'll need escorts once I reach the border. This patrol can't take me any further." Martha said quickly. "You're the doctor on the team, right?"

"Yeah, but I still-" He began, but she cut him short.

"Only Doctors can travel in vehicles from here out, so I'll need you to take me." She said with a brief smile and Owen nodded, impressed. "Toshiko?"

"Yes, but how do you know my name?" She asked quietly, still a little confused.

"Jack didn't shut up about you, any of you. Whilst the Doctor was making us these-" She lifted up a key on a string.

"A perception filter! It's weak, but incredibly useful… so that's how you're getting past the Toclafane." She murmured, nodding to herself.

"He said you were a genius." She grinned at the woman, who smiled back at her. "He also said you spoke most of the main languages, including Cantonese and Japanese. I'll need a translator when I get there."

Tosh nodded and with that, the five of them began to plan their attack, covering both angles, trading advice and wisdom with how to deal with their separate tasks. There didn't seem to be enough hours in the night and before any of them knew it, light was beginning to filter through the door flap and they were splitting up into two groups, tears from both sides as Tosh squeezed Ianto goodbye and wished him and Gwen luck.

The final thing Ianto did was hand the Vortex Manipulator back to Martha. She would need it more than they would.


	2. Chapter 2

Next part! I like this part, this part is 'fun' - I enjoyed writing it the most I think!

**Disclaimer**: I sadly don't own the situation or any of the characters, they belong to Russel T. Davies and the BBC

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The Year That Never Was - Part 2

It was almost four months later when Ianto and Gwen found themselves in a line up outside Millennium Stadium.

To anyone who'd known them before the election, this line up would be full of almost completely unknown faces. As soon as they'd slipped back into Cardiff two months earlier, hiding out in an empty flat, the real transformation had begun. Together, they'd changed their appearances until they looked like different people, they looked like they were Lilith Greene and Andrew Hall.

Gwen no longer had a gap between her teeth, she'd gone to a dentist practicing in the back streets and had a plate made to fill it, so it was only temporary. She'd also dyed her hair with highlights, so it was a good two shades lighter, though not unsightly, and parted it further over, cutting several inches off, making a startling difference. The final thing she did was buy new makeup, colours and styles she would never normally have gone for, but Lilith would have.

Ianto looked stranger still. When they'd gotten back, he'd shaved his hair off, almost completely, and allowed stubble to grow. By the time they were called on, it was a definite beard and moustache and he couldn't help thinking, as he looked in the mirror, that Jack would mock him like nothing else for it.

The final development of his persona was to wear coloured contact lenses, making his eyes a murky green colour, hidden behind a pair of thick framed glasses, similar to ones he'd seen on photos of the Doctor from Torchwood One.

The only thing left was for them to get new wardrobes. Gwen hid away her fashionable jeans and her leather jacket and pulled out a selection of smart suits and blouses, perfect for her role as the receptionist for a high class lawyer's firm. Ianto went the opposite direction, hiding away his suits and ties and pulling on battered t-shirts and mechanic's overalls, folded down and wrapped around his waist so they would pass as trousers instead. He did, however, keep the necklace he'd had since college, unable to put it away indefinitely.

Over all, the receptionist and mechanic from Bute Town were just what Harold Saxon was looking for – eye candy for his daily massages and dumb, controllable men for his engine room.

--

"Oh, I like these two, they're nice." Saxon said over the intercom sounding from the soldier's ear. Gwen and Ianto currently had a camera pointing in their faces and both were shuffling on their feet, trying to squirm like the rest of the line up, despite the fact that they very much wanted to be there.

No one knew what happened to people who were rejected - Ianto just prayed that Gwen got out of there. She knew, deep down, that she was there to keep him in line, to make sure he didn't think with his heart too much and get himself killed. If she died because of him, he wouldn't have been able to live with himself.

"Yes, I like them. Bring them up!" Saxon called happily, two more guards grabbing them by the arms and hauling them over to the military helicopter that sat in the middle of the plass. Ianto stumbled several times in his act and almost went sprawling. As he did so, he managed to lift the guard's security card, quickly stuffing it inside his overalls, in a pocket he'd sewn in to be concealed. It already contained several spare pairs of contact lenses. The security pass was just a backup plan, should things go south.

He caught Gwen's eye and winked briefly before they were shoved into the back and the door slammed closed. They were joined by eight more people before the guards piled in and they took off. They couldn't hear what was happening below over the sound of the propeller, but Ianto caught a glimpse of a swarm of Toclafane descending.

--

The Master entered the boardroom and surveyed his new staff members, glancing at their attire and tutting. He pulled Gwen forwards and glanced her over, taking in the neat suit and the carefully styled hair.

"What's your name?" He asked her casually

"Lilith, sir. Lilith Greene." She put on a timid exterior and exaggerated her accent ever so slightly, rolling her words that little bit more that she usually did.

"Lilith… what a beautiful name! You, my dear, should be in something more suited for such a wonderful title. Oh, Lucy!" He called, looking upwards and throwing his hand out to the door which opened, a blond woman dressed in an emerald green ball gown appearing. "There you are, my sweet. Would you be able to find Lilith something a little more comfortable to wear?"

"Certainly, darling." She said with a false smile, allowing him to kiss her on the cheek as she walked over and gently guided Gwen away from her husband. The weariness and insecurity was already plaguing her eyes.

Saxon watched them go with a sigh of appreciation and headed back to his new recruits. He rubbed his chin briefly before pointing to three more of them - the three remaining women.

"You three, report to the kitchens, you'll get uniforms there." He gestured to the guards, who herded the women from the room and towards their fate. There were the six men remaining now. He paced in front of them and stopped to look at each one carefully.

"Now… I'm looking for someone to keep the machinery going down with my little friend. He does so like to damage it when he can." The Master chewed his lip as he stopped next to the man beside Ianto. He frowned and shook his head before moving on to stand in front of Ianto. "You're already dressed for the job! What do you do?"

"I'm a mechanic, sir." Ianto said humbling, looking down at his feet and doing his best to look intimidated.

"Excellent! So you already know about machinery." Ianto nodded timidly and the Master grinned, slapping him on the back and gesturing for another guard to show him the way. "Name?"

"Andrew Hall, sir." Ianto replied easily. It wasn't too hard to imagine he was someone else, seeing as he looked so different now.

"It shouldn't take you too long to work out how everything works." He smiled once more at Ianto and just as he was about to be lead from the room, he called out once more, Ianto turning to look at him in concern. "Oh, and Andrew? Watch yourself around him, he tends to get a little… antsy."

_Oh you have no idea…_ he said inwardly. Ianto nodded, suppressing the roll of the eyes and smirked so desperately wanted to let loose. Instead, he bowed his head and let the guard lead him through the ship.

--

"They're collecting new staffers today…" Tish whispered as she fed Jack another spoonful of his lunch of vegetable soup. Jack swallowed carefully and nodded.

"I hope there's some cute ones." He grinned and winked at her, but she didn't smile back. "What's wrong?"

"He's… He's getting them from Cardiff." Jack watched as the tears threatened to fall from her eyes. He'd told her all about his team and their home underneath Cardiff's Roald Dahl plass. "He's searching the Welsh this time."

"A little slice of home." He said with a false grin, covering the anxiety he suddenly felt up extremely well. He'd had to watch one of the lines ups in London. Saxon chose a handful, then let the Toclafane have their way with the rest. Tish gave him a watery smile and continued feeding him his soup, allowing him to continue chattering about whatever came to mind.

They drew the process out for as long as possible, for both of them to spend as much time as possible in the company of someone else. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were moments of normality in a crazy and messed up world. Most of the time, Jack though it was Tish who kept him sane in there. It was Tish who reminded him that there was still a human race out there, who willed him to remember his team - to remember Ianto.

There was a clang at the door and Tish leapt away from him in alarm, almost spilling the end of his meal. When they saw that it was just a guard and a mechanic, she relaxed a little more and went back to feeding Jack his cold soup.

"You work here." The guard said gruffly to the new comer. "He breaks something? You fix it. The Master kills him? You clean it up. He makes any sort of mess? You sort it out."

The man nodded mutely and continued looking at the floor, so that Tish and Jack couldn't see him, his face obscured by the shadows and the odd coloured lights by the door. All they could see was a head of extremely short cropped hair

"You sleep in the store room just down the corridor from this door." He pointed back through the doorway and the man leaned round to look at the small room with another nod. "Got that?"

"I think so." He said gingerly, his voice a thick welsh accent, thicker than any Jack was immediately used to. His heart twisted at the familiar roll to the words and he suddenly ached for Ianto and Gwen to be arguing in their native tongue again.

"Good. Your tools are all in that cupboard in the corner." The guard slammed the door shut and Jack jerked his eyes up before grinning at the man, who was pushing a pair of glasses up his nose, glancing around the room. He walked slowly over to the cupboard and opened the door, finding several large toolboxes inside. He let out a low whistle and Jack chuckled darkly from where he was chained up.

"You know, they'll need a good cleaning every few days. The blood does horrible damage if you don't." The man ignored him. The tools doubled as torture weapons when Saxon got bored of guns or knives – even pens once. He watched carefully as the man walked across the room, sticking to the shadows, towards a console that was looking distinctly battered. "That hasn't worked for weeks… I managed to get hold of a pipe and busted it up."

Jack and Tish watched the young man kneel down silently and pull open the panel, laying the sheet on the floor as he pulled out the mass of wires, sitting with his back to them as he worked his way through the circuit boards.

"Are the welsh naturally that shy? Or is it just you?" Tish said wryly, forcing him to take another mouthful of the soup.

"Oh, Tish, don't be ridiculous! How could it ever be me?" He grinned roguishly and winked before letting her spoon more slop into his mouth. "But then again, I haven't met many reserved Welshmen… most of them are rugby loving hooligans who drink themselves stupid after a game. Especially mechanics!"

Jack laughed and Tish rolled her eyes, shaking her head in mock disapproval. Jack was the only thing left that made her smile. She would always be grateful for his company, no matter how this whole, terrible affair with Saxon ended.

"Who said I don't like rugby?" Came a quiet, indignant voice from the corner, sounding more than a little annoyed. Jack raised an eyebrow to Tish and turned his attention back to the mechanic.

"I don't know why you bother with that, it doesn't work properly anymore." Jack said again, trying to rile the man up enough to get more information out of him. "I can only think of two humans in the entire world who could get that fixed without a full lab of computer hardware and specially made tools, let alone enough light to be able to see what they're doing."

"What makes you think I can't do it? Because I'm a mechanic from Cardiff?" The man now sounded a little amused, his heavy accent making the emotion more exaggerated. Jack smirked. He was beginning to like this man, even if he was a little too skinny and his hair was much too short. His sense of humour contained all the tell-tale signs of great intelligence.

"No, because one of those two is a woman and the other is on another continent," Jack looked away, his voice dropping down a notch as the pain blossomed in his chest at the memory of Ianto. "Probably up a mountain if he has any sense."

The man didn't answer, only sat there and continued his work as Tish finished feeding Jack his lunch. When she eventually finished the can, she shot Jack a look and silently wished him luck with the newcomer, reluctant to leave him alone with a stranger. Jack just nodded and smiled, murmuring for her to go.

After another moment she nodded and headed out of the door, closing it quietly behind her. Jack could still hear the frightened footsteps as she hurried away. His fists clenched as he cursed Saxon once more for inflicting such a terrifying world on someone so young.

"How long does it take to eat on a can of soup?" The man asked sarcastically, breaking the silence. Jack glared at him.

"How long does it take to fix a busted up computer?" Jack countered bitterly. The man chuckled softly and for a moment, Jack thought he recognised the sound. Then he shook his head. It must've just been wishful thinking.

The silence stretched out again as the man worked, tapping away at the built in keypad a few times before he let out a relieved 'finally!' and tapped something else into the keyboard on the top of the console. The machine hummed into life and the screen came up, showing the CCTV feed for the room, centred on Jack.

"What the…?" Jack whispered, frowning at the screen. That wasn't today, that was an old feed, a loop of several days cut together and stuck on random. He flicked his gaze to the back of the man in shock before he looked at the screen. "How the hell did you do that?"

The man didn't reply, he just walked around behind him and started to examine the cuffs and the wall brackets, walking around Jack checking from all angles. As he passed in front of him, Jack's memory was jolted once more by the sight of the necklace around the man's neck. It was familiar to him, but as he'd said; it was impossible for that man to be here.

"What're you doing?" Jack asked accusingly, not liking the fact that this man reminded him so badly of Ianto.

"I'm working out how far you can move, for future reference." He said shortly. "But I don't think Mr. Saxon realises how weak this metal is and how easy those cuffs are to get out of… especially for someone like you."

Jack frowned at the man in confusion and swallowed hard. He didn't want some dogsbody running off and telling the Master his discovery. It was something that he, the Jones family and the Doctor were trying to work into a plan. It wouldn't work if the Master was aware of it.

"How could you possibly know that?" Jack growled. The man turned round slowly from where he'd stopped a few feet away and removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking at Jack with a crooked smile, his posture straightening up into a much more familiar stance.

"Because I know everything, sir." He said quietly, in his normal voice, watching Jack in amusement as his mouth dropped open and he starred at him in disbelief. Tears started to fall unchecked over his cheeks and Ianto's expression softened as he moved over to Jack, who was still staring at him.

"Please don't cry, Jack." He whispered gently as he brushed the tears from Jack's face with his thumbs, running his fingers over his familiar features and staring into those bright blue eyes for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

"But… Ianto, you…" He trailed away, closing his eyes and leaning into Ianto's hand in an attempt to understand, breathing deeply and taking in the feel of Ianto's skin on his. After a moment he opened his eyes again and all disbelief was gone. He was sure he wasn't hallucinating now. "You have a _beard_."

Ianto thought for a moment, nodded and smiled once more. Jack laughed in delight - his smile hadn't changed at all over the past months, despite the horrors inflicted on him.

"But more to the point, I know from experience that you can be surprisingly agile when tied up." Ianto wiggled his eyebrows and nodded sagely at Jack before slotting his glasses back on.

"You're supposed to be somewhere in Europe." Jack growled, suddenly angry once more. Ianto raised his eyebrows sceptically and fetched one of the smaller toolboxes, starting work on one of the larger pieces of machinery that was broken. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"Working." Ianto said flatly. "Lets just say, we _were_ in Europe, but then we met a friend of yours and I saw a certain accessory that you're currently missing. She told us about the search for Welsh staffers and the two of us came back. The other two went with your friend. It's not in us to withdraw. We were tired of doing nothing. Anything is better than nothing."

"But if you die-" Jack countered in his defence, Ianto cutting him off before he could get any further.

"Then I'll have died doing my job, doing what's right." Ianto finished stubbornly, closing the conversation. Jack knew better than to object. "And for the record, _I_ don't have a beard, Andrew Hall does."

Jack nodded calmly and Ianto got up, returning to him and kissing him slowly for a few, blissful moments before sighing reluctantly and returning to the CCTV feed, setting it back to normal. He couldn't use it for too long at a time, or someone might get suspicious that he wasn't in the room. He looked at Jack, who watched him with a contented smile and managed to smile back before heading back to work.


	3. Chapter 3

Final part, just to round it all off. I hope it doesn't drag on too much, I felt a little felt lagging whilst I wrote this bit... Anyway, it's up to you to judge! Please enjoy and comment, they make my world go round :)

**Disclaimer**: I sadly don't own the situation or any of the characters, they belong to Russel T. Davies and the BBC.

* * *

The Year That Never Was - Part 3

They'd been on board the Valiant for two weeks now and Jack had settled into a surprisingly pleasant routine. He would still have chats with Tish, having informed her that 'Andrew' was one of the good guys – one of the very good guys in fact, and he and Ianto enjoyed each other's company whilst the real time CCTV feed was running and indulged in more personal talks when Ianto agreed to run the loop feed for five minutes or so.

After the first week, when visited by the Master on an inspection, Ianto had been praised about his impressive performance and he'd had the courage to ask whether the captive would be allowed a more regular wash and a change of clothes every so often.

He'd laughed at the quaint ways of human beings and grinned before granting him his request, much to Jack's approval. Ianto would later find out that Tish also appreciated this, especially as Ianto had also taken it upon himself to completely clean Jack's cell of the dried blood and the general grime that seemed to have collected.

It was a perfectly hospitable environment when Lilith Greene was shoved down there by the Master, as a gift for his new favourite mechanic. He said that 'the cleaner conditions made it so much more enjoyable to kill Jack in', for which 'he was thankful'.

"Hello." The woman said nervously as she edged into the room. Ianto had explained to them both that he wouldn't be able to run the looped feed if the Master was expecting her in there. All pretences would have to be maintained.

"The name's Captain Jack Harkness… and who are you?" He said with a grin and his signature wink. "Andy, you couldn't loosen up these cuffs for a bit could you?"

Ianto snorted quietly and moved back to yet another piece of damaged machinery. He'd quickly discovered that Jack had managed to break the air conditioning, leading to the room being uncomfortably hot and humid in a bid for Saxon to move him to a different location – probably one with a bed and windows. Ianto was currently trying to fix it.

"What can we do you for?" Jack said with a placid smile at the startling glamorous Gwen. She was dressed in a slinky black dress and high heels with her hair styled smoothly, transforming her from a hard hitting alien hunter to a breath taking 1950s movie star. "Perhaps we could have some fun? I'm sure Andy wouldn't mind sharing."

Ianto growled something that sounded distinctly like 'I'm sure Andy _would_', making Gwen smirk and Jack wink at her. There was something soothing about the banter between them all, the jealousy from Ianto, no matter how feigned, Jack's pursuit of Gwen, no matter how empty it was now. He'd decided, long ago, whilst he was hung up with only Tish for company three times a day, that it was Ianto he wanted.

After his capture, it had been Ianto who he first thought about, Ianto who appeared in his mind's eye to shove him roughly back to life when he was hovering on the edge of death, Ianto who kept him sane every time he came back. As much as he loved Gwen, she was no more that an extremely close family to him now.

He'd finally made his choice. All it had taken was a mass murdering psychopath and the imminent extinction of the human race.

--

"How shall I do it today, Jack?" The Master asked casually, pacing up and down in front of him in his immaculate suit and tie. Ianto was still working on the machinery, tracking the exchange silently. Saxon had all but ordered him to stay in the room, obviously wanting to show off. Jack shrugged and smiled sympathetically. "You're just getting so _boring_ now!"

He'd had Jack chained up for over eight months now and he'd run out of all the obvious ideas. Jack was already looking a little older for it. Maybe every time he died, he aged that little bit more. But that was just a theory and Ianto didn't have time to think about theories. They'd heard rumours of the three companions moving across the USA.

"Andrew, how would you like to have a go?" He said brightly, suddenly twisting on the spot and grinning at Ianto, who swallowed hard and peered out from around the machine he was behind.

"Oh, no I couldn't possibly, sir." He stammered, his eyes widening in fake nervousness as he raised his hands in refusal.

"Come on, Andy-boy!" The Master grinned, walking over to him and hoisting him to his feet, wrapping his arm around his thin shoulders and directing him to stand in front of Jack. He pulled the gun out of the holster of one of the guards behind them and handed it to Ianto, who took it with shaking hands. He didn't need to fake it.

"But, sir… I can't shoot someone, I just- I don't think…" Ianto trailed off, trying to not think about what he would almost definitely be doing in a few moments times.

"Well, that's easy then." The Master said with a smile. "Because he's not a person. He's a thing! He's a freak of nature. Doesn't it just hurt to look at him?"

Ianto met Jack's eyes for a moment and nodded, though he suspected that it hurt him in an entirely different way to how it hurt the Timelord. Hopefully, Jack would understand that. Hopefully Jack would forgive him what he was currently being coaxed into doing. "Go on, put a bullet in him… Put a bullet anywhere. This one's all yours."

Ianto nodded slowly and the Master released him, backing away and watching him as he raised the gun up in his shaking hands and pointed it at Jack's forehead. Their eyes locked and Jack didn't care that they were the wrong colour, that they weren't quite right. All he cared about was the remorse in them, begging and the pleading in them for him to understand and forgive him.

He gave a slight nod before grinning. "Come on, Andy, there's plenty of me to go around!"

Ianto smiled weakly and pulled the trigger. Moments later, Jack's vision went blank and he was no where.

--

The murmurs rippled through the Valiant's staff.

_"The travellers are here, the travellers are coming."_

The babble broke out through the various departments and everyone was excited. No one on board enjoyed the time there, all of them lived in fear of the Master taking a disliking to one of them and throwing them off the edge of the platform, even the security.

Only a handful of people in the crew had been there the entire time. Only a few more had survived longer than a couple of months. Ianto and Gwen had now been there for just under five months and they were still alive – it was something that each of them prayed for through the dark hours of the night when every bump and whisper was the Master creeping through the corridors to slaughter them.

But now the rumours were coming, thick and fast. The travellers, the ones who'd crossed the world looking for the ultimate weapon, they were back on British soil. The end was near.

--

"He went down himself?" Jack asked in shock as Tish forced him to finish eating. They were both wanted up on the main deck, 'Andrew' as well. The Master wanted his favourite servant to be there when he finished his job and achieved world wide domination.

"Come _on_, Jack. Please, just finish eating!" Jack rolled his eyes at the panic in her voice and opened his mouth wide, indicating that she should just shovel the rest of the food into his mouth.

He'd barely finished chewing it when the two armed guards who stood guard outside the door stormed in, untied him and cuffed him. A third came in to collect Tish and the entourage moved out, Ianto following behind as he'd been ordered to.

For the past few weeks, he'd been getting increasingly nervous about his appearance. Whilst he still had a beard and contact lenses in, his hair had started to grow back and was slightly longer than normal. The Master obviously hadn't noticed, which was a relief, but it didn't stop him having restless nights at the thought of being discovered.

As they walked the corridors of the Valiant, up to the boardroom, Ianto silently wondered just how they'd managed to make it this far, how they'd managed to go undetected. He had a sneaking suspicion that Saxon knew – knew and didn't care. Either way, Ianto wasn't dead so he wasn't complaining.

"The family's all here!" The Master cried as Tish and Jack were escorted into the room, Ianto following behind them. He jumped from the top of the stairs and grabbed a rather battered looking Toshiko by the jaw, dragging her towards Jack and grinning maliciously at him. Then he ran back and grabbed an equally worn out looking Owen by the back of his shirt and dragged them both back over to the captain. "Say hello! How does it feel to see two of your team mates? I just wish the other two could be here… all those Welsh citizens killed so I could try and find them. It's a shame really. But still, how is it to see your team again?"

"Well," Jack's expression had been fixed in a scowl, but it suddenly flipped and he grinned at Saxon before flicking his eyes to Martha with a grateful smile and back to the Master. "I would say it feels kind of like it did five months ago, when you brought the first two aboard."

The Master threw the two people in his hands to one side, Tosh crying out in pain, clutching her chest and Owen quickly wrapped his arms around her, cradling her to his chest and whispering to her, trying to soothe her. Jack felt a hand come flying into his cheek and his head whipped around with a resounding slap of skin on skin.

"What do you mean?" Saxon snarled at Jack, but the captain just started to chuckle. During the commotion, Ianto had slipped towards Martha and Gwen and tucked his glasses away, ripping the contacts from his eyes and rubbing them gratefully as his vision cleared of the murky, muddy haze that had haunted him for almost half a year. Next to him, Gwen ripped out the plate tooth, wiped off the bright red paint on her lips and squeezed Ianto's hand fiercely.

"Have you met Ianto and Gwen before?" Jack said with a grin, nodding towards the newly liberated team mates standing by Martha.

"Bloody Torchwood…" Saxon hissed, storming away from Jack and aiming a kick at Owen for good measure. He stalked across the room to the other three, but Ianto pulled Gwen and Martha behind him, squaring up to Saxon in a rather intimidating way. "So you're the office boy, huh?"

"Yes, sir." Ianto said, glad to drop his faked accent. Saxon raised his laser screwdriver to Ianto's chest and glared at him for a moment before dropping it to his side and jumping back up the stairs.

"This is all entirely besides the point anyway." He said with a smirk, directing the guards to carry Martha over to the middle of the room. He began his usual, theatrical tirade but was brought to a halt as Martha started to laugh.

--

The sight of everyone chanting 'Doctor' and then the man himself rising up from his withered state and floating across the room was something Ianto would later reflect on as nothing short of ridiculous. However, it did the job, so who was he to complain?

"I'm so sorry, Doctor, I really am." Ianto said quietly, crouching down next to him as the man cradled Saxon's body, the tears dried and faded.

"Well… I'm used to being alone, Mr. Jones." The Doctor looked around at him and smiled weakly. Then he looked up at someone coming through the door and his smile strengthened. "I know someone else who is, too. But he doesn't have to be today."

Ianto frowned slightly and looked round to see Jack standing a little way off from them, watching them talking with a rather innocent expression on his face. Ianto grinned and stood up, Jack taking a few steps towards him before Ianto raced towards him, Jack catching him and holding him tightly, laughing in delight as Ianto hugged him hard, humming happily at the feel of Jack's arms around him after so long.

Ianto pulled back and took Jack's face in his hands, pulling him closer and capturing his lips in a blistering kiss that had taken so long to get round to. Jack moaned slightly and pulled Ianto even closer, if that was possible. After several moments, there was a snigger and a 'whoop' from across the room and they pulled away to find Martha and Gwen grinning at them.

"When we get home, would you mind shaving?" Jack murmured in Ianto's ear as he smiled at the two women.

"Is it that unattractive?" Ianto asked sarcastically, turning to face him and raising an eyebrow.

"Unattractive? Not really, aging? Yes." Jack grinned and kissed him slowly again. "You look about thirty."

"That's just Torchwood." Ianto said with a grin before ducking out of his arms and going to thank Owen and Tosh, who were sitting at the table, cuddled together. Tosh seemed to be out of it, as Owen was stroking her hair and placing the occasional kiss to the top of her head.

Apparently he and Jack weren't the only two who'd decided life was too short for love games.

--

"Do you think we get reception from up here?" Gwen asked suddenly, glancing around for a phone. The sight of the two couples suddenly made her extremely homesick.

"I don't know, but I have a super phone. It works anywhere." Martha smiled and handed her mobile over to Gwen, smiled and quickly dialled her house number.

"Rhys?" She asked tentatively as the phone was picked up after the third ring.

_"Speaking." _

"Oh my God, Rhys! It's you, you're okay!" Gwen squealed, tears automatically rolling down her cheeks in relief. She'd long ago given up hope that Rhys would've survived, but apparently he was lucky enough to have his death reversed twice.

_"Look, I know I went to the pub the other night and didn't come home til lunchtime, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be passed out in some hospital."_

"I know, sweetheart, I know." She laughed at the indignation in her boyfriend's voice and grinned at Jack, who was walking over.

_"When're you coming home? Only I was thinking of making us a curry for dinner."_

"I don't know, love. I don't know." Gwen smiled affectionately and snapped the phone closed before flinging her arms around Jack's neck and hugging him, laughing happily once more.

--

Torchwood Three piled out of the TARDIS and started to head across the plass, Tosh, Owen and Gwen leading the way, Jack and Ianto behind them with Jack's arm firmly around Ianto's waist. He'd barely let go of him the entire ride home.

They said their goodbyes and the Doctor had done something to Jack's Vortex Manipulator, deactivating the teleport settings by the sound of it. Just as they were about to walk off, Jack wheeled around and posed his final question to the Doctor.

"But I keep wondering, what about aging? Cause I can't die but I keep getting older, the odd little, grey hair, you know?" Ianto snorted at the completely sincere concern in his voice and Martha grinned at him. "What happens if I live for a million years?"

"I really don't know." The Doctor said with a smile, shrugging at the slightly disgruntled captain.

"Ok, vanity, sorry. Yeah... can't help it. Used to be a poster boy when I was a kid, living in the Boeshane Peninsula... tiny little place. I was the first one ever to be signed up for the Time Agency, they were so proud of me." Jack looked at Ianto with a far away glint in his eye. "The Face of Boe they called me…" He sighed happily and turned back to the Doctor and Martha, both gawping at him. "Well, I'll see you!"

With that, Jack dragged Ianto towards the Hub. Ianto, however, glanced over his shoulder at the two companions and laughed at the looks of complete bewilderment and shock on their faces.

--

"You know, I hate to say it, but I'm getting quite attached to my beard." Ianto said mournfully, rubbing his chin in the mirror of the bathroom whilst Jack handed him his electric razor.

"Whatever you want, old man." Jack said with a completely deadpan face, offering him the razor once more for him to grudgingly start the task.

"For someone who went through hell for a year, you're surprisingly upbeat." Ianto finally said as he set to work, cutting it down closer to leave a layer of stubble. Jack moved behind him and picked up the can of shaving gel, squirting some onto his hands and beginning to rub it over Ianto's cheeks, chin and neck.

"Personally, I think having to watch it all was worse than experiencing it. You had to clean my blood, brains and fragments of my skull up more times than I could count. I'd rather live through it that watch it lived through. I promise to try and avoid you having to do that again at all costs. But I'll let you in on a real secret." He said mysteriously, sitting back to let Ianto finish the job. "I wake up every morning to watch you shave because the look of concentration is just too damn irresistible."

"Oh, so _that's_ the reason?" Ianto said sceptically, moving from his now cleanly shaven neck and chin to his cheeks. "It has _nothing_ to do with the fact that we indefinitely end up having sex?"

"Think about it." Jack moved round behind him and wrapped his arms around Ianto's slim figure, resting his chin on the young man's shoulder and looking at him in the mirror. "Have we ever had morning sex before you're ready to get dressed?"

Ianto paused for a moment and looked at him before shaking his head slowly, conceding his point. "You are completely impossible, Jack."

Ianto pulled up a towel and rubbed his face clean, barely having time to through the material away before Jack pulled him in for a deep, heart stopping kiss.

"Yes, I am." He said with a grin, pulling Ianto towards the bedroom.

--

It had been two days since the death of Harold Saxon and Torchwood Three were unshakeable.

**FIN** - Thanks for reading, i really hoped you enjoyed it :)


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